Ratchet mechanism



E. W. BULLARD.

RATCHET MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13. 1920.

Patentql Aug. 30, 1921.

[Ill/ UNITED STATES}- EDWIN w. BULLAR-D, OI"WI-HTNEYVILLE,CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNO-R 'ro wmonnsrnn PATENT OFFICE.

REPEATING ARMS 00,01 HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

, RATCHET MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN BULLARD,

a citizen of the United States,"residing at Whitneyville, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut,thave invented a new and useful Improvement in Ratchet Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in-- Figure 1, a plan view of my improved ratchet-mechanism with its crank-arm bro ken away. I

Fig. 2, a corresponding view in side elevation.

Fig. 3, a view in longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. .4, a view in vertical section on line 4r-4: of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5, a detached plan. view of the ratchet.

Fig. 6, a broken side view thereof.

Fig. 7, a perspective view of the washer provided for the suspension of the ratchet in the housing of the mechanism.

Fig. 8, a detached plan view of one of the floating, spring-actuated pawls.

Fig. 9, a side view thereof.

Fig. 10, a detached view of one of the pawl-springs.

Fig. 11, an edge view thereof.

My invention relates to an improved ratchet-mechanism, the object being to produce a ratchet-mechanism constructed with particular reference to simplicity of construction, fewness of parts, convenience of operation andruggedness in use.

Vith these ends in view my invention consists in a ratchet-mechanism having a housing, a ratchet, and two spring-actuated complementary floating-pawls for co-action with the ratchet. My invention further consists in a ratchet-mechanism having certain details of construction and combination of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, I employ two complementary floating pawls 12 respectively positioned in longitudinally arranged oblong assembly-openings 13 formed in the opposite faces of a ratchet-housing 14 receiving the ratchet 151 with the teeth of wh1ch the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 30 1921 Application filed August 13, 1920. SeriaLNo. 403,197.

said pawls co-act. I have characterized the pawls 12 as .fioating pawls for the reason that instead of swinging on fixed pivots or havlng constrained longitudinal movement, they are free to rock as well as to slide longltudinally, being yieldingly held in any of their positions by means of flat-sheet-metal pawl sprlngs 16 located within the pawlchamber 17 of the housing as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Each of the pawls is formed upon its inner face with a blunt nose 18 for co-action with the teeth of the ratchet 15, at its outer end with a tongue 19 sliding upon the'adbined fulcrum and abutment shoulder 25 formed upon the inner walls of the housing in positions coincident with the inner ends of the assembling-openings 13 therein, and therefore opposite each other.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, the upper pawl is shown in its retired position in which its nose 18 is cleared from the ratchet and in which its notch 23 has received its complementary shoulder 25, the pawl being yieldingly held in this retired position by its spring 16. In the same figure, the lower pawl is shown with its nose 18 engaged with the ratchet and its notch 24 engaged with its complementary fulcrum and abutment shoulder 25, whereby the pawl is yieldingly held in its active position.- From the positions in which the respective pawls are shown in Fig. 3, they are readily moved by first unlocking them by inward pressure and then shoving them longitudinally in one di the housing by means of a screw 26 mounted in a suspension-washer 27 fitting into a recess 28 in the upper end ofthe housing.

I claim: 1

1. A ratchet-mechanism having a housing formed with complementary assemblingopenings, a ratchet located in the said housing, and two complementary spring-actuated floating pawls entering the respective as sembling-openings and each having rocking and longitudinal movement with respect to the ratchet with which they co-act.

2. A ratchet-mechanism having a housing formed with a pawl-chamber and two oppositely located assembling-openings leading thereinto, a ratchet located in the said housing, two complementary spring-actuated, floating pawls located in the said pawl-chamber and entering the respective assemblingopenings and having yielding, rocking and longitudinal movement with respect to the ratchet and engaging in different positions with the housing.

3. A ratchet-mechanism having a housing formed with a pawl-chamber the side walls of which have assembling-openings, a ratchet in the said housing, two complementary, floating, spring actuated pawls located in the said chamberand respectively entering the said openings and having longitudinal and rocking movement therein, and combined fulcrum and abutment shoulders located within the housing at the inner ends of the said openings and co-acting with the said pawls in their two positions of longitudinal adjustment.

at! 'A ratchetmechanism having a housing formed with a pawl-chamber and two 0ppositely located assemblingopenings, a ratchet located in the said housing, and two complementary, floating, spring-actuated pawls located in the said chamber and entering the respective openings, the forward ends of the, said pawls extending through the openings for co-action with the exterior of the housing and their rear ends co-acting with the interior thereof and the outer faces of the pawls being formed with transverse notches co-acting with transverse shoulders located within thehousing at the inner ends of the said openings. y

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. 1

EDWIN W. BULLARD. WVitnesses:

ERICK S. PALMER, A. E. Honeson'. 

